No: 180, 20 June 2015

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel stated in response to a question on 18 June 2015 in the Chamber of Representatives that he believes the events of 1915 should be considered as“genocide”.

This statement of the Belgian Prime Minister is inconsistent with historical facts and incompatible with international law. It is neither acceptable nor justifiable in any way for the Belgian Prime Minister to presume impertinently to pass a judgment on an issue over which there has never been a judicial decision or academic consensus, and although he himself conceded that no competent international court has ever ruled on it.

His expressions are also contradictory with the stance of the Belgian Government as declared a while ago in the Chamber of Representatives that the concept of “genocide” which is a legal concept should not be used in a desultory manner. Such a rapid change in opinions accusing the Turkish nation so iniquitously is also a clear indication of how far the issue has been derailed from scientific and judicial ground and politicized.

We have been observing with concern for a while, the serious increase in the number of accusatory activities and statements aiming at Turks over their identities and history, in Belgium, a country which has not yet confronted the dark pages of its own history.

It is a fact that the practices to obtain political gains through "bashing Turks", comprising racist, xenophobic and anti-Islamist dimensions, involving also political circles in Belgium, who are supposed to act with a sense of responsibility.

This state of affairs will offend the Turkish community in Belgium, to say the least, and obviously will not make any positive contributions to their further integration in Belgium, to which they have made significant contributions in economic, social and cultural fields and continue to do so.

It is inevitable that this attitude, which also disturbs the Belgian Turkish community, will give rise to unfavorable results in our bilateral relations with Belgium with which we have relations of friendship and alliance.